September 2009 Archives

Step by Step.  That's how we are launching a Center within a Center.

Our focus is squarely on Women and Communication Leadership and creating a Center within CCLP for training and research.  It is surely something needed as more and more women (and men) in the Communications Industry find themselves out of a job or forced to reinvent their skill set in this challenging and complicated economic time.  Our goal is a robust training institute for women in Communication Leadership.  But, first we needed a baseline look at the industry.

Three award-winning journalists have quit their jobs to work for the Texas Tribune, a new nonprofit venture expected to launch in November. The organization has already raised $3.5 million to sustain itself for the next three years. Read the Editors Weblog post. -- September 30, 2009.

A senator from Wisconsin has proposed a plan that would exempt any buildings associated with a news publication from paying property taxes. While an overall newspaper bailout is still being considered, some believe these targeted tax breaks are more realistic quick fixes. Read the Editors Weblog post. -- September 30, 2009

While most iPhone applications are free, CNN is charging $1.99 for its revamped mobile tool in an effort to boost revenue. The new application allows users to become their own reporters and facilitates citizen journalism by having an easy iReport upload feature. Read the Huffington Post article. -- September 29, 2009.

With President Obama saying he would listen to proposals for helping struggling newspapers, some think it better to let weak publications die and let the stronger business models emerge on their own. This post by Daniel Lyons also suggests papers should consider buying up successful sites like Politico or The Daily Beast to save themselves. Read the Newsweek post. -- September 29, 2009

As Congress and the Federal Trade Commission seek enhanced online privacy protection, the news industry is exploring ways to use online information to turn a profit.

Looking for ways to stay afloat in the face of lagging paper sales and ad revenue, some newspapers are seeking revenue lifelines from their online sites.  The Newspaper Association of America recently asked companies to present proposals on “paid content” solutions.  The NAA’s request itself indicates an interest in gaining reader information. One question asks whether proposed platforms can “provide an information barter environment with appropriate privacy and other protections (i.e. access to content in exchange for more detailed user info)” — in short, whether the platforms can collect data from readers.   In response, many of the proposals received by the NAA contain some form of individualized reader experience, where targeted ads and news links are provided in response to a reader’s profile, preferences, and viewing habits.

The Washington Post decided to crack down after a managing editor "tweeted" his opinions about news stories on Twitter. The publication has now restricted its staffers from using social media to express any personal thoughts or opinions regarding the Post's content. Read the Nieman Lab post. -- September 28, 2009

Kachingle, a new crowdfunding application expected to launch in October, asks users to donate $5 a month in exchange for all open content online. Users can designate if and how they want to split their donation among different news outlets. Read the Editors Weblog post. -- September 28, 2009.

In an effort to increase its foreign affairs coverage, CBS has partnered with GlobalPost, which has 70 correspondents in 50 countries around the world. This partnership between a broadcast organization and an online outlet may be a blueprint for future integration. Read the New York Times article. -- September 27, 2009.

A leaked internal memo reveals that a survey in the United States, Great Britain and Australia of a pay-for-news model was mostly positive. This, however, is in stark contrast to recent survey that showed only 5 percent of readers are willing to pay for online content. Read the PaidContent.org post. -- September 25, 2009

DocumentCloud, a new site that will aggregate and host primary-source material, has added 20 notable news organizations to their list of contributors such as The Washington Post, New Yorker and MSNBC. The site is expected to launch at the end of the year. Read the Nieman Lab post. -- September 25, 2009.

KQED Media, The UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and San Francisco financier Warren Hellman have joined forces to create The Bay Area News Project. The online publication will focus on locally produced news from a core team of reporters with the help of KQED and students from Berkeley. Read the Editors Weblog post. -- September 25, 2009.

The Austin American-Statesman has started using its Twitter account for advertising, which is very strictly monitored under Twitter rules. The paper pays $150 per "tweet" and is limited to only 120 characters twice a day. Read the Editor & Publisher article. -- September 25, 2009

Clay Shirky, a leading mind on how the Internet affects the media, says he is worried about how the decline of newspapers will affect journalism's responsibility to the public. Shirky also believes a paywall is not the ultimate solution to challenges facing the news industry. Read the Nieman Lab post. -- September 23, 2009

The Senate Judiciary Committee has amended the definition of a journalist to exclude amateurs. This means that student journalists and bloggers would not be protected under the shield law, which is expected to be further reviewed by the Senate later this week. Read the Nieman Lab post. -- September 23, 2009.

Though challenging, more news outlets are looking to become nonprofits and enlist the help of fundraising professionals. One example is ProPublica, a New-York-based group that produces "journalism in the public interest." Read the Nieman Lab post. -- September 23, 2009.

A new survey in the UK says that only  5 percent of people who read their news online would pay for it; and those who would pay want to do so annually, not in micropayment form. Also, of those polled, young people between 16-24 years of age are the most willing to subscribe to the paid content model. Read the Editors Weblog post. -- September 23, 2009

In these challenging times, news organizations are finding innovative ways to make money. From charging for seminars with veteran reporters or conferences on revamping journalism, publications (both online and print) are using previously unconventional methods to increase revenue. A new entry: establishing for-hire research units.  Read the Online Journalism Review post.-- September 23, 2009

The Washington post withheld for one day a much-anticipated report on the dire situation in Afghanistan, at the request of the Pentagon. The Post also excised portions of the report, convinced that they could pose a threat to troop safety. Read the Washington Post article. -- September 23, 2009

Spot.us has partnered with USC Annenberg to launch an LA version of the Bay Area site where donors fund stories. The nonprofit strives to be a platform where local community members, journalists and news publishers can engage. Read the Nieman Lab post. -- September 22, 2009.

Though slowing, the decline of ad revenue in newspapers is probably going to get worse before it gets better. There is hope though, as some say the recession is over or at least near its end. Read the New York Times article. -- September 20, 2009

President Obama admits he is worried about the future of journalism. Obama said he would consider legislation to help support papers because he thinks the industry needs more solid, fact-checking type journalism as opposed to opinion-driven blogs. Read the Editors Weblog post. -- September 21, 2009

A new report shows journalists lost jobs at a rate almost three times as high as average workers in the last year. More than 35,000 journalists have lost their jobs, with nearly 25,000 of those in print journalism. Read the Editor & Publisher article. -- September 18, 2009

Eric Schmidt told Rupert Murdoch that going behind a pay wall (as Murdoch says he'll do with News Corp. properties) will fail because there is simply too much free content online. Though skeptical, Google is still trying to partner with publishers to find a solution to the business-model problem. Read the PaidContent.org post. -- September 18, 2009

Beginning in January, The Washington Post will sync its print edition with its online content. This type of integration has become more popular in recent months for both its economic and organizational efficiency. Read the Editors Weblog post. -- September 18, 2009

Top research universities have started funneling their news and findings through a site called Futurity. The online journal showcases content from 35 leading schools on the environment, health, medicine and more. Read the Editors Weblog post. -- September 17, 2009

South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson has been admonished for yelling “You lie” during President Obama’s health care speech, an outburst that startled many Americans and which others connected to this summer’s rowdy town hall behavior. However, in the United Kingdom the political process is routinely more raucous. Is American the land of polite politics... and is that changing?

“There are differences in style between U.S. and U.K. political discourse,” says USC Annenberg communication professor and CCLP faculty fellow Tom Hollihan (pictured), author of Uncivil Wars: Political Campaigns in a Media Age.

With technology facilitating the advent of many social media platforms, journalists are wondering how much is too much as outlets bend over backwards to incorporate these new tools. Robert Picard examines the benefits and drawbacks within the intersection of social media and news publications. Read the Nieman Lab post. -- September 16, 2009

Ad spending has declined 14 percent in the last six months, according to a new advertising tracker. Media corporations such as News Corp and Time Warner are among the companies who have noticeably cut down on their marketing costs, in addition to many print and broadcast outlets. Read the LA Times article. -- September 16, 2009

In response to the Newspaper Association of America's call for innovation, Microsoft introduced their version of an online news site. The prototype looks a lot like TweetDeck in that it pulls in video and photos from major media outlets and places content alongside feeds from Facebook or Twitter. Read the Nieman Lab post. -- September 15, 2009

Though Journalism Online is confident its new business model will thrive, an American Press Institute study reveals that half of industry executives are hesitant about implementing it. The study also measured readers' responses against publishers' responses to paying for content online. Read the Editors Weblog post. -- September 15, 2009

Voice of OC, a new investigative journalism outlet made up of former lawmakers, attorneys and reporters, is hoping to fill the void left by many job cuts at the Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times in recent months. The privately funded organization hopes to be releasing reports by the end of the year and will operate much like independent, nonprofit Voice of San Diego. Read the Editors Weblog post. -- September 15, 2009

NewsCorp announced that it will begin charging readers who browse the Wall Street Journal on their mobile devices. Subscribers will pay $1 per week and non-subscribers will pay $2. The publication is one of the few outlets that has succeeded in using a paid content model. Read the Washington Post article. -- September 15, 2009

Leading news organizations and Google have joined forces to produce an experimental news-browsing service called "Fast Flip." The goal is to simulate the physical feeling of perusing a print publication by taking headlines from major media outlets and placing them on a magazine-like spread. Read the NY Times article. -- September 14, 2009

As more veteran reporters migrate to successful, issue-driven organizations, concerns over objectivity are being called into question. Since advocacy groups almost always have their own agenda, journalists are facing scrutiny over the intentions behind their reporting. Read the Nieman Lab post. -- September 10, 2009

Journalism Online wants 20 percent of subscription revenue and will have news sites sign up roughly 10 percent of their monthly readers for a subscription plan. Read the Nieman Lab post. -- September 10, 2009

A new company called TweetMixx combs through thousands of Twitter updates every hour to give readers the most "Tweeted-about" headlines and stories of the day. Previously called Mixx, the site will switch from mostly using CNN.com for breaking news to the increasingly popular Twitter. Read the Washington Post article. -- September 9, 2009

As news outlets grapple with how to charge for content online, Google has plans to extend its "Google Checkout" service to include a payment system for news sites. The company is working directly with the Newspaper Association of America in hopes of finding a solution for both the print publications and the search engine giant. Read the Nieman Lab post. -- September 9, 2009

Tribune Co. is implementing a system that would simplify searching for articles across its various media outlets. The idea is to have a single URL for a piece of content regardless of whether the reader is viewing the story on the Los Angeles Times or Chicago Tribune site, for example. The company believes searching for content would be more efficient without duplicate articles. Read the Nieman Lab post. -- September 8, 2009

A new touchscreen digital reader with built-in Web browsing is due out by the end of the year from a leading consumer electronics company. The Asus product will be in direct competition with Amazon and Sony, who both have e-books in the market. Many journalism publications are currently struggling with how to sell their content via the digital reader model. Read the Times Online article. -- September 6, 2009

One of the few print publications that saw an increase in readership and revenue this past year is now considering an online paid content business model. Currently, The Economist charges only for articles that are more than a year old and its online subscription covering that archival material costs about $90. Read the PaidContent.org post. -- September 8, 2009

Monica Alba has joined the Center on Communication Leadership and Policy as a junior fellow. Monica is an award-winning, honors graduate of the USC Annenberg School (Class of 2009). She earned her degree in broadcast journalism with minors in international relations and cinematic arts. She is the co-founder of the highly successful Social Issues Film Festival (SI DocFest), a high school film festival that requires students to produce short documentaries on social issues in the San Francisco Bay Area and awards $30,000 to students, schools and non-profits annually.